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Dollander Shines, Walsh Saves His Way Into the Record Books as Vols Advance to SEC Tournament Semifinals

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HOOVER, Ala. -- After Tennessee's 10-1 win over Vanderbilt, Drew Gilbert said the top-ranked Vols are always "ready to play, whenever." It showed when Tennessee dominated Vanderbilt in their SEC Tournament opener after multiple rain delays that amassed over 24 hours. 

And just when the weather in Hoover cleared and the Vols thought the waiting game was over, Tony Vitello's squad found themselves in another situation of having to wait. 

Texas A&M and Alabama, who played the game before Tennessee, started their game at 5:30 p.m. CT, which was an hour behind schedule due to a lengthy Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt game. The Aggies finally defeated Alabama at 9:30 p.m. CT in a four-hour contest, making first pitch of Tennessee's game occur B minutes behind schedule. 

But it did not matter. The Vols remained composed once again and downed LSU 5-2 to move on to the semifinals unscathed in the SEC Tournament. 

The Vols and Tigers played under the lights in a packed Hoover Met Stadium filled with Tennessee and LSU fans alike, and the energy was never lost throughout the three-plus hour game. 

Tennessee fans were the side that ultimately got to celebrate in the end after watch their Vols' pitching staff stymie LSU's hot bats with an excellent start out of Chase Dollander and a save by Redmond Walsh to achieve their second consecutive win in Hoover. Walsh's save marks his 23rd of his career which ties Todd Helton's program record. 

The Vols faced some adversity in the fifth inning with some defensive woes, but elite pitching and quality at-bats once again allowed Tennessee to earn their 51st win of the season. 

Here's how it happened: 

Jordan Beck Shines Early on Both Sides

Tennessee got on the board in a hurry in the bottom of the first after Dollander struck out the Tigers in order in the top of the frame, scoring two runs. The first came thanks to a Jordan Beck RBI triple off the right field wall to score Luc Lipcius who had worked a one-out walk. The triple marked Beck's second of the season and served as a play to break the junior out of his slump.

Beck scored exactly one pitch later on a wild pitch to give Tennessee a pair of runs in the first and a 2-0 lead. 

Dollander kept the Tigers scoreless in the second, working around a leadoff single and a two-out single to strand runners on first and second. But the SEC Pitcher of the Year had a little help, as future big league outfielder Jordan Beck made a diving catch in deep right field near the foul line for the final out. 

Beck's incredible defensive play in deep right can be seen below. 

Beck had been overshadowed by the rest of the Tennessee lineup making plays in the Mississippi State series and against Vanderbilt on Thursday, but 'Mike Honcho' was the first one to come through and give the Vols an early lead in a late night, marquee SEC showdown. 

Vols Tack on Run But Strand Bases Loaded

Evan Russell got on base with a leadoff single to begin the bottom of the second, Cortland Lawson got on base thanks to a one-out throwing error by LSU's starting picher Ty Floyd, and Luc Lipcius drew a two-out walk to load the bases for Jordan Beck, who had already started off hot. 

Beck then worked a walk to bring in a run and give Tennessee a 3-0 lead. Although Beck extended Tennessee's lead, Drew Gilbert popped up to end the inning and strand the bases loaded. 

Tennessee Defense Collapses in Fifth, Offense Gets Runs Back

After a third and fourth inning in which neither side could get much going, especially the Vols who had been retired in order both frames, LSU got on the scoreboard with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth. 

But they had some help from Tennessee's defensive blunders. LSU nine-hole hitter and second baseman was the first Tiger on base in the inning with a one-out walk, but he didn't stay there long. The redshirt junior made his way to third and later scored on the next at-bat when SEC Co-Player of the Year Dylan Crews sent a double to left center. But Bianco's score wasn't because of Crews' hit, as Seth Stephenson and Cortland Lawson each had fielding mishaps that allowed Bianco to score LSU's first run. 

And Lawson's fielding woes didn't stop there. LSU's left fielder and two-hole hitter Josh Pearson connected for a hard hit grounder to Cortland Lawson, who committed a fielding error by bobbling the grounder then made a poor throw that went past Lipcius at first. Crews came home from second as the throw skated past Lipcius to cut the Vols' lead to one run. 

Lawson's pair of uncharacteristic defensive errors were a blemish on what overall was a solid game from the Volunteers overall, and the Vols' shortstop did not have to wait long to see his team get those runs back. 

Drew Gilbert hit his third RBI of the tournament with a roped RBI single through the right side to score Luc Lipcius from second who had gotten on base with a leadoff single and later stole second. Gilbert then came home all the way from first courtesy an drilled RBI double by Jorel Ortega down the left field line, who continues to put together quality at-bats this tournament. 

Ortega ultimately did not score, as LSU went to the pen to bring in senior RHP Trent Vietmeier who retired Russell to end the inning. 

Dollander's Day Comes to a Close, Vietmeier Deals

Tennessee starting pitcher Chase Dollander and Vietmeier traded 1-2-3 innings in the sixth before Dollander's day came to an end in the seventh. 

Dollander retired the first two batters of the inning and had reached the 99-pitch mark with Dylan Crews up to bat, resulting in Tony Vitello calling Mark McLaughlin out of the pen. 

McLaughlin allowed a single to Crews after two pitches and his day was done, as Vitello gave Kirby Connell the ball with left-handed two-hole hitter Josh Pearson approaching the plate. 

Connell got Pearson to groundout and end the inning with some help from Jorel Ortega's glove, preserving the Vols' three-run lead and stranding Crews. 

At the plate, the Vols couldn't do anything in the seventh or the eighth, as Vietmeier retired all ten batters he faced to keep Tennessee at five runs. 

Redmond Walsh Closes Things Out, Ties Program Record

Although Tennessee's bats couldn't get going against Vietmeier, Tennessee super-senior LHP Redmond Walsh took care of business in the eighth and ninth innings to guide the Vols to their second consecutive SEC Tournament win in the same amount of days. 

Walsh sat down the Tigers in order in the eighth then retired the side around a leadoff single in the ninth ton finish out the victory and get the save. 

Walsh's save marks his seventh of the season and 23rd of his career, which ties a program record set by all-time VFL BaseVol great Todd Helton. 

Up Next

Up next for the top-ranked Vols is a matchup with the winner of LSU vs. Kentucky, which will be played on Saturday morning, meaning Tennessee's next matchup will once again be the late game. SEC Network will once again have the broadcast.